Energy Efficient Resource Management in Cloud Data Centers through Virtual Machine Consolidation

Krishna Kumar; Khushboo Yadav

doi:10.70454/JRICST.2026.30403

Authors

Krishna Kumar Professor, Department of CSE, Institute of Technology & Management, GIDA, Gorakhpur, India Author
Khushboo Yadav Assistant Professor, Department of CSE, Institute of Technology & Management, GIDA, Gorakhpur, India Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.70454/JRICST.2026.30403

Keywords:

Virtual machine consolidation, energy-efficient cloud computing, dynamic resource management, SLA-aware scheduling, reinforcement learning optimization, VM migration overhead, green data center

Abstract

The accelerating proliferation of cloud computing infrastructure has imposed substantial energy burdens on modern data centers, which now collectively account for roughly 1-2% of global electricity consumption. Traditional static resource allocation approaches fail to accommodate dynamic workload variability, resulting in chronic server underutilization and disproportionate idle-power expenditure. This paper proposes an Energy-Aware Virtual Machine Consolidation (EAVMC) framework that integrates threshold-based monitoring, SLA-constrained dynamic migration, and Reinforcement Learning (RL)-guided placement decisions to minimize data center power consumption without degrading quality-of-service. The framework operates through a four-phase pipeline: continuous resource telemetry, adaptive threshold arbitration, migration-cost-aware VM selection, and host consolidation with graceful power-gating of idle physical machines. Experimental validation using Cloud Sim 6.0 with Planet Lab workload traces demonstrates that EAVMC reduces total energy consumption by 34.7% relative to the best-performing baseline, decreases SLA violation rates to 1.23%, and maintains CPU utilization above 72% under heterogeneous load profiles. The results confirm that intelligent consolidation, coupled with migration-overhead awareness, offers a viable path toward greener and more cost-effective cloud operations.

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